Rabat – Moroccan Abdellatif Oumakhlouf was found dead in St. Julian’s, Malta, on Sunday following an altercation with Polish tourist Sebastian Malinowski, who was charged with murder on Monday.
According to the Times of Malta, Oumakhlouf, 31, was found in a park near Paceville, Malta’s nightlife hub, around 6:30 am with a deep cut to the back of his head. CCTV footage showed an altercation between Oumakhlouf and Malinowski, 27.
An autopsy suggested that Oumakhlouf was punched, fell backwards, and hit his head on concrete, causing him to bleed to death.
Oumakhlouf had lived in Malta for about a year, where he worked in construction to support his parents in Morocco. He was the eldest of two brothers and his family’s primary breadwinner.
Dounia Borg Lakehal, the president of the International Moroccan Community in Malta, told the Times of Malta that Oumakhlouf was “quiet, respectful, and hardworking,” and his employer Attard Bros Group called him a “valued employee.”
His father was told of his death on Tuesday morning, Borg Lakehal further added.
Malta Today reported that Oumakhlouf’s family wants him to be buried in Morocco, and Morocco’s diplomatic mission accredited to Malta is working to repatriate his body.
Oumakhlouf was visiting Paceville for the first time and was not a heavy drinker, according to Borg Lakehal.
“He was with friends but they got separated. No one knows what happened,” she said.
Around 90 minutes after Oumakhlouf was found, Malinowski was identified wearing the same clothes as in the CCTV footage and was arrested. The circumstances that led to the altercation remain unclear.
Last December, police in Gdansk, Poland, issued a wanted notice for Malinowski on suspicion of causing bodily harm. However, according to the Times of Malta, Malinowski was not on a Europol wanted list, meaning the notice was not flagged to local or international authorities when he entered the country.
During his arraignment on Monday, Malinowski pleaded not guilty to charges of recidivism and murder.
